The Fondness I Feel For You
by Koda0809
Summary: Percy almost fails Math and desperately needs help. Annabeth is the student all teachers suggest. There's something about him that Annabeth can't help but fall for. There's something about her that makes him feel safe. Percabeth AU mortals. I promise the story is better than the summary. Rated T because I'm paranoid
1. Chapter 1

Percy looked away from the ocean. The waves glittered in the sunlight and shone like millions of sapphires. The ocean always managed to calm Percy down. Sometimes it would be serene and calm and other times it would be relentless and wild. That alone made Percy feel connected to the ocean. The way it was so unpredictable. Percy hated being unpredictable, it made him feel unstable. He himself couldn't predict his actions, which made it nearly impossible for others to.

Another D in Mathematics resulted in him feeling inferior and disappointed. He had done everything he could've done by himself. He had given his 100% and yet had just scraped past failing. There was no other choice for him other than tutoring.

His mother had already asked his teachers who should help him in his studies and all of them had suggested the same student. Annabeth Chase. This sucked a bit, because she was gorgeous and he would probably be tongue tied in front of her. She was also the no nonsense type and therefore would probably be annoyed with his inability to speak in front of people he didn't know well, especially pretty people he didn't know well.

To make his mother proud though, he would brave through the embarrassment he was probably going to experience while talking to Annabeth. He could do this much for his mum.

Time skip

Monday morning came with Percy questioning if his education was even worth forcing himself out of bed and going to interact with people. Then again, today would be the first tutoring session he would have with Annabeth. He didn't want Annabeth to think of him as incompetent as a first impression.

He got up, stretching his arms to try and get rid of the stiffness he felt in his muscles. After showering, he got dressed in a simple grey sweatshirt and black jeans. He tried to put a comb through his hair but gave up after a few tries. His hair was almost as stubborn as he was.

He got out of his room and head out to the kitchen, lead by the smell of pancakes that made his stomach rumble. His mother was standing at the counter, her hair pulled back neatly in a high ponytail. She was already dressed.

One thing he could say without doubt is that his mum was the best baker in the world. His mum's cookies, especially, were perfectly gooey and yet crunchy. Also, they were blue in colour. That's what made them so special. They'd been through a lot together, Percy and his mum. The one thing that had kept them going through all the hardships they had to face in their life was the concept of blue food. Born out of their rebellious moods against Sally's abusive ex-husband, blue food is one of the only happy memories Percy has of that dark period of their lives.

One other fond memory he had of his childhood was his trips with his mum to the beach. No Gabe, no school, no teachers, just him and Sally. They went to the beach because it reminded Sally of Percy's father. Nights on the beach used to be spent with Sally reliving her past by telling Percy stories. Stories of Sally and Poseidon, stories of heroes, some with happy endings and some with sad endings.

'Hi honey. Good morning,' Sally greeted Percy cheerfully. He sat down at the counter, leaning forward to receive a kiss on his forehead and greeted his mother back. 'Eat up; you have a tiring day ahead of you.'

Percy nodded. 'Is Annabeth supposed to come over or are we supposed to study in the library?' Percy inquired.

'Whatever suits you.'

'Cool.'

Sally smiled at her son and ruffled his hair. 'I have to go now, I have opening duty in the café today.'

'Have a nice day, then. Love you,' Percy said.

'Love you too.'

Time Skip

Percy was tired. He didn't want to study more. But he had to, because there was a level he was expected to hold up and that was getting grades above Ds.

He groaned and banged his head against his locker. 'Woah. Are you fine?' someone asked him. He raised his head to see who the voice belonged to. He was met with a sight of imperfect perfection. Blond curls tied back with tendrils framing a sharp face and striking eyes. 'Annabeth!' Percy exclaimed and winced almost immediately, cringing at the excitement his voice held.

Annabeth looked a bit amused. 'Percy, right?'

Percy nodded a bit too fast. Annabeth bit her lip for a quick second. She had to admit, he was cute. A bit too cute. She sighed at her thoughts and looked at him before looking back to the ground. 'So you need help in Math right?' He nodded. She gave him a slight smile. 'Where do you want to go?' she asked.

'Uh I was thinking we could go to my house, but if you're not comfortable with that, we could go to the library, which works too.'

'Your house works for me, unless you would prefer studying in the library?' she said, trying to make sure he was comfortable.

Annabeth had learnt a long time ago, the key to a good study session was comfort. If he wasn't comfortable, he would be too preoccupied with his discomfort to actually focus on his studies.

He shook his head though. 'I think I would be more comfortable in the familiarity of my home. I only offered to go to the library thinking of your comfort,' Percy explained. Annabeth nodded in understanding and gestured for him to lead the way.

Time Skip

While walking beside him to his house, Annabeth couldn't help but keep glancing his way. She realized he was really good looking. His eyes were big enough for effective puppy eyes and something about his messy, soft, hair made her feel something in her stomach. It was bit cold so she hugged herself a bit tighter to warm herself up. She could hear him sniffling and she could also tell he was trying to stop himself from sniffling in front of her too much. She couldn't explain the feeling of endearment she felt in that moment.

He glanced back at her and gave her a small smile and her stomach erupted in butterflies. She kept her cool though and smiled back. She hadn't realized they had been walking in silence for so long. The comforting thing about the silence was that it was natural and not awkward and it made her feel more connected to Percy than words ever could.

Both of them didn't know what happened on that one walk from school to Percy's home but they both felt it. They weren't friends before this. All they'd known about each other was the fact of their existence. But in that moment somehow, they felt like they'd known each other for multiple lives.

There was something beautiful about the walk Annabeth just couldn't explain. If she tried to explain the emotions that went through her in that silence, her friends would probably scoff and think that she was making something out of nothing.

Maybe it was the weather that made it that much more meaningful. Maybe it was the fact that neither of them felt the need to break the silence. Maybe it was the fact that they were both comfortable enough in the silence that they didn't speak until they reached his house. All Annabeth knew was that she wanted to relive that feeling, those emotions over and over. All Percy knew was that he wanted to stay in that moment forever. All they knew is that they didn't want their relationship to be just that of a tutor and a tutee. All they knew is that they wanted more.


	2. Chapter 2

As they approached his house, Percy felt disappointment at having to break the meaningful silence that had engulfed the both of them but knew that it was inevitable. The stopped in front of an apartment building that looked like it had about 20 floors. 'We're here,' he said softly, trying to make the breaking of peace as gradual as he could. Annabeth nodded. The two made their way inside the building, waiting silently for the elevator to come down. Percy fumbled in his bag for something, and after two minutes of intense and clumsy searching finally emerged victorious with a key in his hand.

'Mum's not going to be home and we don't feel comfortable leaving the key under the doormat,' he explained. As soon as Annabeth expressed understanding, the elevator dinged open and they both stepped inside. Percy pressed the button for the fourth floor and moved to the back of the elevator. Soon enough, the elevator dinged open again and the two stepped out.

Percy opened the door to his apartment and let Annabeth step in before him. Annabeth smiled in gratitude towards him and Percy ignored the sudden drop in his stomach. Of he was this affected just by a smile, god help him survive the next two hours.

…

After about 10 minutes of deciding where they would sit, Percy repeatedly asking Annabeth whether she wanted water or some kind of refreshment and Annabeth repeatedly declining, they found themselves sitting comfortably on Percy's bed with worksheets and notes spread out all over, leaving a small space for them. Neither of them seemed to mind their close proximity, if anything, Percy appreciated it.

Annabeth took a deep breath and turned to Percy. 'Alright, I'm going to need to get a background on your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to math, so do you mind briefing me on where exactly you're having difficulties?'

Percy, a bit shocked at her eloquence (was this how she talked to everyone), nodded slowly. Annabeth smiled at him, could someone please tell his stomach to calm the hell down, and looked down to the sheet of paper in her lap. 'These are the chapters that have been covered in class till now. We're going to go over everything but I want to start with the chapters that you find hard.'

She went on to reciting all the chapters and asked Percy to point out the ones he didn't understand. As time went on, they soon had a plan as to how they were going to cover all the chapters they did in the next two months. Time had flown and an hour was already up. When Annabeth realized this, she quickly started to explain the first chapter to him in layman terms and picked out a sheet from her folder and gave it to him. 'Seeing as two hours are already up, here's the worksheet I prepared for this session, sorry we can't do it together, my dad'll be mad if I'm late,' she said.

It could be said that Percy was surprised and impressed at how prepared Annabeth was. He nodded shyly. 'I can drop you till your house if you want?' he offered politely. Annabeth laughed lightly and patted his cheek. 'That's alright, thank you offering though.' By this time, both of them were at the front door. She opened the door and shouted a quick bye, and just like that she was gone. Percy wouldn't admit it, but his hand involuntary touched his cheek a few times where she had touched him. It was a slight (very slight) possibility that Percy was starting to develop a crush on the girl.

...

The next two months passed by with Percy's grades gradually improving from a D to a B and his feelings from Annabeth getting deeper every second he spent with her. You know what didn't help in curbing his feelings at all? The fact that he had gotten way closer to her and she was getting _comfortable._ This meant more touches, cuddling when the studies got too much; resting her head on his shoulder and _hugs. _His mum absolutely loved Annabeth. This meant her staying over for dinner almost every time she came over for studying or just hanging out. She had become family already and Percy couldn't imagine life without her.

Annabeth finally had a best friend. Even if she wasn't Percy's (she definitely was), he was still hers'. She couldn't deny the feelings she had for him but right now, as he didn't seem to reciprocate the feelings, she was satisfied with being this close to him. Being this close to him meant, cuddles (that he initiated how much ever he would deny it), him hugging her from the back while she explained a hard topic to him, her staying over for dinner at his house practically every other day and finally feeling like she had a mum.

As the tutoring lessons had stopped officially, now Annabeth just went over to his house as his best friend. She still helped him with his homework but she wasn't responsible for his grades. Everything was so perfect right now, she kind of just wanted to live in this moment forever. Then Percy shifted so he could wrap his arms around her and pull her snugly into his chest and she decided that she wanted to live in this moment instead.

But something was off. She could feel it. 'Perce?'

All she got was a hum in acknowledgement so she continued. 'You good, bub?' she asked concernedly. She could feel him nod into her back but she wasn't convinced still so she adjusted herself so that she was facing him. She cupped his face. 'You want to try again without the lies?'

'How do you always know?' he asked softly. 'I know you,' she answered quietly. 'And I want to help you but I can't till you tell me what's wrong, right?'

Her hands were still cupping his face and he was having trouble focusing. 'I like you. As in more than a friend,' he quickly blurted out, his cheeks dusted red. It was an understatement to say that Annabeth was shocked. He looked down to hide his face in embarrassment. The giddy feeling Annabeth felt right now was a bit inexplicable. She gently lifted his face. 'Is it alright if I kiss you?' she asked quietly. Her shock had passed onto him, where he just stared at her dumbfounded. 'I'm kind of waiting for an answer, Perce,' she said, a bit embarrassed now.

He pulled her closer. As in she was now sitting directly on his lap, with her legs around his waist. 'Please do,' he said in a bit of a smug tone. She blushed a bit before pulling his face in till their lips met. And a thousand emotions erupted in both of their stomachs. Their lips fit perfectly. It was almost addicting. Annabeth tilted her head so as to deepen the kiss. Percy gasped at the action and Annabeth took it as an opportunity to insert her tongue in.

Their tongues battled for dominance, until they had to pull away to breathe. 'Ok woah,' Percy gasped out. Annabeth laughed. 'Yeah.'

'God, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that,' Percy confessed. She frowned. 'It can't have been longer than me because I've had a crush on you from the first time I tutored you.'

Now it was Percy's time to frown. 'Um that's how long I've liked you,' he said in a confused manner. Annabeth and Percy looked at each other for five minutes straight till Annabeth smacked her forehead. Percy looked startled. He rubbed her forehead and glared at her. 'Stop hurting what's mine, you noob,' he told her disapprovingly. 'Yours'?' she asked teasingly. Percy just nodded solemnly and whispered an 'all mine' before pulling her even closer than before if that was even possible and burying his face in her hair. 'All yours'' she sighed contentedly.


End file.
